Key Features

First complete model description of the internal photoemission phenomena

Overview of the most reliable energy barrier determination procedures and trap characterization methods

Overview of the most recent results on band structure of high-permittivity insulating materials and their interfaces with semiconductors and metals

Description

The second edition of Internal Photoemission Spectroscopy thoroughly updates this vital, practical guide to internal photoemission (IPE) phenomena and measurements. The book's discussion of fundamental physical and technical aspects of IPE spectroscopic applications is supplemented by an extended overview of recent experimental results in swiftly advancing research fields. These include the development of insulating materials for advanced SiMOS technology, metal gate materials, development of heterostructures based on high-mobility semiconductors, and more. Recent results concerning the band structure of important interfaces in novel materials are covered as well.

Internal photoemission involves the physics of charge carrier photoemission from one solid to another, and different spectroscopic applications of this phenomenon to solid state heterojunctions. This technique complements conventional external photoemission spectroscopy by analyzing interfaces separated from the sample surface by a layer of a different solid or liquid. Internal photoemission provides the most straightforward, reliable information regarding the energy spectrum of electron states at interfaces. At the same time, the method enables the analysis of heterostructures relevant to modern micro- and nano-electronic devices as well as new materials involved in their design and fabrication.

Valeri Afanas'ev

Professor V. Afanas’ev devoted more than 25 years of research to development of novel experimental methods for interface characterization. In particular, a number of techniques based on internal photoemission phenomena were shown to provide unique information regarding electron states in thin films of solids and at their interfaces. In recent years these methods were successfully applied to characterize novel semiconductor heterostructures for advanced micro- and nano-electronic devices.

Affiliations and Expertise

Laboratory of Semiconductor Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium